A Deal Sealed in Silence

Carla’s POV.  

The moment we stepped out of the hall, he abruptly let go of my hand. I was neither surprised nor hurt as all we did in there was just an act. We both entered the car and after giving the driver the directive on where to go, we zoomed off.

“Drive us to the hospital. We need to pay granny a visit” he had instructed as he rested his back on the seat and put on his seatbelt.  

Throughout the journey to the hospital, no one spoke and the silence in the car felt heavy. The silence made me feel uncomfortable. So, I took a quick glance at Carlos, hoping to start a conversation with him but he was too engrossed in his thoughts to notice me, as he was staring outside the window, his face, a vast array of emotions.  

The glance, which was meant to be quick, lasted for quite a while as I took my time to observe his countenance and mood. Although he had successfully gotten his revenge on Catherine, he still looked sad. Anguish and hurt were written all over his face.  

As I looked at him, my mind trailed back to 20 hours earlier, when he had suddenly asked me to be his wife.  

“Be my bride” he had said, his face devoid of any emotion. His look was fierce and determined, which showed that he meant what he had requested. 

“What?” I asked, as I suddenly got my tired self up, with my cheeks wet with tears. I was confused and shocked at the same time.  

“How can my sister’s fiancé ask me to be his wife? Is he making any sense at all?” I had thought as I fixed my gaze on his, trying to figure out what was going on in his head, but I wasn’t able to. 

“Don’t you want to get your revenge on those bastards for hurting you? If you want to, then be my bride in exchange for helping you get your revenge on them” he said as he pointed his finger in the direction of where Ivory and Catherine had gone, with hurt and anger evident in his voice.  

For some minutes, I stared blankly at him, trying to process his proposal but I just couldn’t. I tried figuring out the rationale behind his sudden change and sudden proposal, but I just couldn’t. But one thing which was sure was that he meant what he had said.  

As I turned to look at my daughter’s grave, a painful realization hit me—this was my one chance to avenge her death, and I couldn’t let it slip away. Overwhelmed with vengeance, I turned to face him and said, ‘I am ready to be your bride’.  

And there we sat in the car like strangers, with barely a word to exchange, after having pulled off one of the most convincing performances of our lives. While amid my thoughts, the car came to a halt. It stopped right in front of Hope for the Living Hospital.  

The memories of two nights before, when Mia had taken her last breath, came rushing to me. I closed my eyes as I held tightly onto my dress, trying to let go of the pain and heartbreak I had felt at the thought of those moments of hers.  

“Are you okay?” His voice, although cold and detached, pulled me out of my thoughts and somehow brought relief to my troubled mind.  I slowly opened my eyes and with a smile on my face, I said, ‘Yes, I am’. I tried not to show my fear, but my voice betrayed me as it shook as I spoke, and tears rolled down my face.  

I hurriedly hid my face away from him as I didn’t want him to see me as a weakling. I had thought he wouldn’t care because of his cold demeanor, but what he did next sent a wave of shock through me.  

He gently turned my face towards his and wiped away my tears. He locked his gaze with mine and as I looked into his cold, steely eyes, I caught a glimpse of compassion in them. I could hear my heart racing, but I wasn’t sure why-maybe because of the fear in me or because of how close we were.  

“It’s okay if you don’t want to go in. I know you can’t overcome what happened in there just two days ago so quickly, but I need you to know that the only way to overcome your fear is to face it. Think about the reason we got married, think about how your daughter died and the pain you felt, then you will be able to do the unimaginable even if it hurts” he said, as he slowly let go of my face, his voice filled with softness that I had never heard since the hours we had been together.  

I took a deep breath, as his words lingered in my mind like an echo. The fear was still there, gnawing at the edges of my resolve, but for the first time, a small spark of courage began to flicker within me. 

“I will be back” he said as he adjusted his suit and was ready to hop out of the car. Just as he was about to open the door, I said to him as I took a long deep breath, ‘I will go with you’.  

He looked at me and nodded gently, as if acknowledging my bravery.  

With his help, I got out of the car and we both headed into the hospital as he held my hand in his.  

We stepped into the elevator and headed to his grandmother’s room which was on the eleventh floor. As soon as we entered the VIP ward, we met an old woman, seated on the bed, eating.  

We paid her respect by greeting her, but she didn’t acknowledge our presence as she pretended not to see us. I looked at Carlos, wanting to make sure we were in the right room but he just furrowed his face in frustration.  

“Granny, are you going to continue being this way? We all know you are not sick, so why are you keeping yourself in the hospital?” Carlos lamented as he faced the old woman, looking perturbed and speechless.  

“I will continue to stay in the hospital until you leave this bitch!!” she yelled as she pointed in my direction, although she didn’t look at me.  

“Bitch? What’s going on here?” I had thought as I furrowed my face in confusion, trying to figure as to why someone I had never met before would call me a bitch.  

“I told you she is not the perfect partner for you, but you have failed to see that. I do not like her. I told you not to get married to her, but you still went ahead to do so although I didn’t give my blessings. Since you have chosen her over me, then go be with her. Stop bothering me and let me be!!” she yelled, still not casting a glance at us, as she hissed and continued with her food.  

“Granny, I never disobeyed you. I didn’t get married to her as you said. Didn’t you watch the news? I jilted her at the alter” Carlos said, trying hard to convince his granny and make her look at him.  

“Really?” granny asked with excitement, as she abruptly let go of the spoon she was holding, which collided with the floor and made a loud noise. She eagerly looked at Carlos, with a smile on her face.  

“Yes, granny. I didn’t get married to her as I realized all you said about her were true. I got married to someone else. Here she is” Carlos said, as he pointed in my direction.  

Granny took her time to look at me from head to toe and her face was devoid of any emotion, which made it difficult for me to decide whether she liked me or not. She got up from her bed and began to walk towards me. Being the shy type, I averted my gaze from hers and rather fixed it on the floor. I was scared as I didn’t know what to expect from her. Witnessing how she had spoken ill of Catherine made me have doubts about her being a good person.  

In no time, she closed the gap between us. Her warm hands cupped my face, her gaze lingering in a way that made my skin prickle with unease and anticipation.  

Eventually, she burst into laughter which made me more confused. Before I knew it, she pulled me in for a tight embrace as her laughter echoed in the room. I glared at Carlos, as I gave him a ‘What’s happening look?” but he only stared blankly at me, as if he didn’t understand what I meant. 

After some minutes of suffocating me in the name of hugging me, she finally let go of me. 

“Carlos, I like her. She looks so beautiful” she said as she smiled and continued to rub her hand against my skin. I didn’t know what to do as I was shocked by her sudden transition from being angry and annoyed to being jovial all of a sudden.  

I furrowed my face in confusion, which she mistook for annoyance.  

Letting go of my face abruptly, she furrowed her face in annoyance. 

“Don’t you like me? Don’t you want to be in my company?” she asked, as she pouted her mouth, which made me laugh.  

“Are you making jest of me right now?” she yelled, which made me stop laughing and kept a straight face.  

“No granny, I dare not. I am happy to meet you. My name is ...........” I said, trying to explain and introduce myself but before I could finish, she interrupted me.  

“You know what?” she said as she turned and headed to her bed space. “I am fine now. Let’s head home now. We will continue our conversation at home” she further said as she put on her slippers and ordered her guards to pack her belongings.  

“Carlos, let’s go get me discharged” she said as she giggled and bolted out of the room, but not without taking me along. 

Till we got to the last floor where we would process her discharge, granny was all and on about Carlos. Telling me about his childhood and many more. Although I was getting tired of her talk, I was glad I had someone to talk to; someone who was willing to hear me out.  

Carlos was more of a tag-along than a grandson and a husband, as we both ignored him as we got engrossed in our discussion and laughed our hearts out.  

As we walked towards the exit after getting granny discharged, I heard a voice call me out. It was the voice I was quite familiar with; the voice of the man who evoked the anger in me.  

As I turned around and our eyes met, I felt rage run through my veins and at that moment, all I wanted was to strangle him to death!!!